WW1 Fighting Swords!

[@scholagladiatoria]

Please like and subscribe! 3 extra videos each month on Patreon, which hugely helps support this channel: www.patreon.com/scholagladiatoria Facebook & Twitter updates, info and fun: facebook.com/historicalfencing/ twitter.com/scholagladiato1 Schola Gladiatoria HEMA - sword fighting classes in the UK: www.swordfightinglondon.com Matt Easton's website & Pinterest: www.matt-easton.co.uk/ www.pinterest.co.uk/matt_easton/_saved/ Easton Antique Arms: www.antique-swords.co.uk/

[@markfergerson2145]

I can’t grasp how anyone could watch even one of your videos and not subscribe. Seriously, you post remarkable tidbits of information I’ve not seen anywhere else, tidbits that often tie together and explain what previously looked like random unconnected people and events. Do you have a video on that WWI American sword you mentioned? I think the Chieftain mentioned it in his discussion of American cavalry transitioning from horse to mechanization in that period but he’s better at providing images of armor than arms, so to speak.

[@scholagladiatoria]

Thanks - here is some more info about the Patton M1913 sword: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXTbcoCanZegd5o

[@jordanthomas4379]

It’s not a sword, but E-tool or trench spades were used pretty extensively, largely because everyone had them.

[@darrylviljoen6227]

WHO OWNED THAT FIRST SWORD? you never said who it belonged to even though you seem to know who it was. I know of a few of the vice admirals of that period and I'm curious which of them would have wanted a sword like that. Can you also do a video on that first sword. It looks interesting enough to warrant it's own.

[@ianhealy2233]

Great video Matt. I love it when you get into the history of specific weapons.

[@danielpace626]

"Mad" Jack Churchill said it best. " Any officer that goes into battle without a sword is improperly dressed."

[@jameshulme4287]

My father was an Officer in the Black Watch - and the Highland Broadsword he still has (issued to him in the late 1960s), the serial number on that meant he could check with the Quartermaster, and it had been signed-out for use in 1914!

[@Lockke_]

The sword retention mechanism on that first sword was pretty interesting. Could we get a comprehensive video on various ways sword retention methods have been done historically?

[@markfergerson2145]

Good idea. I’ve often wondered why some scabbards have mouths made of horn, others of bone or metal or just the same wood or steel as the rest of the scabbard. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

[@edward9674]

Yeah that'd be really interesting!

[@UserNamechannel]

The earliest examples I know of are 5th-7th century northern european blades having "sword beads" that could have been used in conjunction with a lanyard on the grip to anchor in to an attachment point about 10cm down the scabbard and tightly lock a sword inside.

[@markfergerson2145]

@@UserNamechannel A KZbin channel by the name Screws and Tools does restorations of old rusty Eastern European swords and knives. Many of them have what looks like a very rudimentary sword knot consisting of a leather strip looped through a fitting on the scabbard, which to my eye looks totally unsuitable for attachment to a belt. Most of the swords and knives use large raised-head rivets to attach the grip scales, which again to my eye look ideal for looping the leather strip around. I had not thought about this until your post. I’ll have to ask the channel operator about that.

[@rogerlafrance6355]

You see this argued into the 30's in the US Cavalry Journal. My favorite is Lance vs Sword at the charge. More interesting is that many officers were into Pentathalon and Olympic sports and such. They were also the ones that would spend for a brace of revolvers one each side of the pommel, another on the hip and an officers carbine.

[@zoiders]

Monty carried his infantry sword into action at The First Battle Of Ypres. This may seem futile but it showed that he was prepared to lead from the front. Men wont follow cowards.

[@Lowlandlord]

Patton carried a pistol and a Colt Single Action Army in North Africa. Some people just want to feel fancy with their fancy toys :P

[@Riceball01]

Leading from the front, while it sound romantic and all, isn't really practical or necessarily a good idea in modern warfare.It's highly impractical beyond the platoon level where you're only commanding 30 - 40 men. Starting at the company level, you're now commanding over 100 men or 3 - 4 plattons and leading from the front means that all your really know what's going is what's happening with the platoon you're writh. While you're fighting with that one platoon, you don't really know what's going on with your 2 or 3 other platoons. This is not to say that a good leader shouldn't be leading from miles and miles behind the front, extremely far from the fighting. A good leader should be close enough to the fighting where their information isn't too old and stale, but far enough that they don't get caught in the fighting themselves. They should also know how not to micromanage their subordinate unit commanders and let them do their job.

[@ftdefiance1]

​@@Lowlandlord the Single Action Army has a following due to its perceived reliability and durability. Col. Cooper the father of the ,"Modern Technique of Pistol Craft" talked about carrying one in WW2

[@MrBottlecapBill]

Modern times have proven conclusively that people WILL follow cowards so long as the media tells them to.

[@zoiders]

@@Lowlandlord Patton used his issue cavalry sabre against protesters who marched on Washington demanding financial relief for WW1 veterans during the great depression. He had no qualms with using violence on a personal level (murder) and the revolver and sword were not "toys". Learn your own history. The man was a fairly viscious fascist on many levels.

[@freestatefellow]

That second sword’s blade looks to be in beautiful condition!

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yeah... I like it too much!

[@freestatefellow]

@@scholagladiatoria ah, the old “bought it intending to sell it but now I want to keep it.”

[@gerryjamesedwards1227]

The full stories of the people who bought these weapons would be incredible, if we had them. It's such a shame that even so recent a period of History, once it becomes beyond living memory, is uncertain and full of the hints of forgotten peoples' stories.

[@amnewl727]

The stories they could tell!

[@kaoskronostyche9939]

I really love this stuff. Tid-bits of history, true stories of true people; cool swords. Thank you again for your great efforts.

[@mylesdobinson1534]

Hi Matt, I have just bought your 1908 pattern sword, as I have been on the lookout for one of these for a while. My Grandfather fought in WW1 with the Australian 4th Light Horse at Beersheba. Which after this battle they were issued with this pattern of sword. He survived the war, although wounded at Semakh where he WON the MM for his actions. Thanks for bringing these to Light on you channel.

[@BenedictFoley]

After the charge at Beersheba most of the Australian light horse were issued with swords and given a crash cause in there use and saw out the remainder of the war as true cavalry

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

Even by the time of early ww2 swords was considered legit military weapons - especially for cavalry, but also for many Guerrillas all over Balkans, Africa and Asia

[@hithere4719]

Sticks and stones might break my bones, but swords will surely hurt me.

[@Pavlos_Charalambous]

@@hithere4719 exactly, and let's not forget the Shock and awe aspect Most people get stupefied out of fear when encounter a blade

[@eriklinkogel6399]

I think in the ww1 German Cavalry, they used exklusivly steel lances, not only the Uhlans but also Husars and Cuirassiers

[@SibylleLeon]

This is so, so fascinating. I love looking at actual historical weapons that were used, and even finding out who bought them (in some cases). It's like time travel for nerds ❤

[@tonyface2007]

My grandfather was part of the Indian Sikh forces sent to the Middle East at Basra, he says everyone knew that the real reason for WW1 was to secure the oil fields as Churchill knew oil was the future for the navy to maintain its dominance and the middle east had to be secured before the Berlin to Baghdad railway was completed. I know there was a lot of fighting in Europe but he said the powers were not really after territory in Europe. He did not take part but even late in the war cavalry charges with swords in the middle east were winning battles like the battle of Haifa.

[@Mr.emu44]

Did sepoys knew that?

[@tonyface2007]

@@Mr.emu44 Yes it was common talk among the troops they knew they were engaged in a war of Empire but tbh my dad said because they knew it was against the once mighty Ottomans they were all for it, there were tropps drafted in from all over the southern hemisphere.

[@sixgunsymphony7408]

People are conditioned to say Germany started WWII by invading Poland. What they don't teach in schools is that Britain and France took Danzig region away from Germany in 1918 and gave it to Poland. Seems to me Gernany was taking back what was theirs in 1939. BTW, the Soviet Union invaded Poland twice, 1920 and 1939. Yet Britain and France did not declare war on the Soviet Union. Looks to me like game of empires.

[@willo7734]

Awesome video! It’s very interesting to hear that folks were still ordering swords for battle even after the Great War. Nice Faith No More shirt too by the way. 😊

[@purplepothos5794]

That RN sword with the tassel is a real beauty, and very insightful learning about locking mechanisms unique to them; never really thought about that but it makes obvious sense when you explain the necessities of life onboard a ship. Also, curious why the name for that Wilkinson record was blank, would there be any particular reason for that?

[@scholagladiatoria]

Unfortunately most of the records during WW1 were left blank, because they were churning them out in such high numbers presumably.

[@brittakriep2938]

In 1934 King Alexander of Jugoslavia made a State Visit in frech town Marseille. Together with a french Minister, he went to town by car, escorted by two officers on horseback. Suddenly a pistolarmed assassin came, shot the King, who was dead at once, and also french Minister died later. The assassin was not shot down by Police, he was beaten down by a sabercut of one of the mounted officers. This was first assassination , which was partly filmed, see KZbin.

[@BenedictFoley]

I recall some nut case fireing a starters pistol (I think from memory) at the queen and one of the house hold cavalry escorts spurred his horse at him and was moments way from smiting him with his sword only that there was cops on hand and tackled the guy 1st

[@bellakaldera3305]

The most beautiful and unique sword used in WW1 by British Forces is a leaf bladed Shortsword homage to an ancient celtic sword issued to a Welsh unit for use in the trenches. Matt have you seen one of these? I suspect it inspired "Sting". There is no sword from WW1 I would rather have...

[@Scott-qq9jd]

The one with the weird folding crossguard? I think he's mentioned it before. Can't remember what it was called. It was inspired by a Welsh cledd (spelling?). But what was it called...

[@valandil7454]

​@@Scott-qq9jd it's called a Kledyv it's a short leaf shaped welsh sword 🙂

[@WozWozEre]

You're not thinking of the Smatchet?

[@bellakaldera3305]

@@WozWozEre Nope the Smatchet was WW2, This was longer and prettier.

[@Scott-qq9jd]

@@WozWozEre There was something else that looked like a smatchet, but predated is and was longer, and had a folding crossguard.

[@titanscerw]

Btw just recently I have reread your amazing article on mysterious CJM pattern Wilkinson swords, you are putting out some seriously glorious work, Matt! Thank you for that. +][+

[@DefunctYompelvert]

Were higher up NCOs in the British empire still issued swords in WW1? There was a 1905 pattern sword for infantry staff Sargents if I recall

[@scholagladiatoria]

They were on paper, but by late 1914 all swords for infantry were put away on the Western Front. In the Middle East it was probably different.

[@Lowlandlord]

If I remember correctly one of the last cavalry charges was by the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Royal Scot's Greys) in Palestine, late '30s, or during WW2. Not too long before they switched over to something run on gas insteada grass. It is worth noting btw that Canadian and American mounted rifles viewed themselves as riflemen first and swordsmen second. Some conflict within the establishment over training leading up to WW1 about the focus on swords here in Canada, but even then, we got a cavalry charge in during the war, Victoria Cross to a member of Lord Strathcona's Horse at the Battle of Moreuil Wood.

[@minuteman4199]

Lieutenant Gordon Flowerdew.

[@jm9371]

Fantastic research on a fantastic sword.

[@FlatcapHobbit]

Awesome video as always! Honestly, I always thought a cutlass with the bowl guard cut down would’ve made an awesome trench fighting weapon, seems odd that officers didn’t use one with their Webleys.

[@harrykouwen1426]

Those stories you tell about those elegant weapons and signs of knowledge and status for those who used and wore them well, are what it's all about really, everytime they take us back to what life was all about and where we all are going with that knowledge, thank you so much Mr.Easton.

[@VoltTaar]

What this tells me, is that people wanted to have all the options available to them when the time comes to use them. You may never use an option if you do not find yourself in the situation in which it is usefull, but if you ever need it and you don't have it on you right there... well you will never have a chance to tell others that it was not a mistake to bring a sword into a guns fight.

[@BCSchmerker]

+scholagladiatoria *Thanks for the briefing.* In retrospect, the U.S. Sword, Cavalry, 1913 would have made a satisfactory all-arms officers' sword; it had comparable reach to the U.S. Magazine Rifle 1903/1905 with Bayonet 1905 and Magazine Rifle 1917 with Bayonet 1917, therefore would have given the junior infantry officer a reasonable weapon to fight alongside the men under his command.

[@jesseshort8]

I found this extremely interesting, thanks Matt!

[@brucemagee3199]

3 realy nice swords, thanks for showing us them. Very informative.

[@vasararh]

This was magnificent. I saw it with borderline childish enthusiasm

[@smashingtheadam]

Okay THIS is fascinating. I know such detailed accounts of the owners of swords are few and far between, but if you can do this more often I would LOOOOVE to see it.

[@test2tester53]

The locking mechanism on the naval sword looks exactly the same as the kind used by Midshipmen on their dirks

[@_D_P_]

Swords don't run out of bullets, don't jam, and are much quieter than guns.

[@snidely_whiplash]

You're right. They chip, crack, bend , and snap. Their victims also tend to scream pretty loudly and not die as quickly as they would with a firearm.

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

Great stuff Matt, A key thing is that even if you have access to a pistol, you can defend yourself with a sword against somebody with an edged weapon or other implement.

[@rossstenner4402]

Interesting video, there were some who still thought that the arme blanche still had a place on the battlefield in the 1950's. See lt .col. French "Goodbye to Boot and Saddle" published in 1951

[@garywheble4534]

The tradition carrys on today as in the days of the RFC there are alot of pilots and observers operators of weapon systems in the Army Air Corps who come from the Artillery . I have a friend who joined the Army Air Corps in 82 as an observer later became a pilot although other Regermental members also join like the Guards but they .are not as many as the Artillery, as a result they wear the sky blue beret but insted of tha Army Air Corp Falcon the retain there Regerments cap badge in his case the Queens cypher of 1RHA which is slightly different to Kings Troop 3RHA and 7RHA you have to know what your looking for to know the difference

[@jessecunningham9924]

If that last Wilkinson has a blank blade, could it have been an inexpensive replacement blade, and not the original? I’m assuming you can tell or not. Fascinating stuff! I love how items and relics tell a story. Reminds me of that famous literary work, “The Things They Carried.”

[@TheBaconWizard]

6:44 OHhhhhhh how you underestimate us Matt! Give us those juicy geeky details you bad man :P

[@herefordshireregimentalmus8771]

Excellent stuff, looking forward to seeing these come up for sale 😊

[@CombatantArms]

I have a bullet-scarred field green-painted Mle1854/82 pallasch as well as a 1914 manufacture Mole P1897 Infantry, though with a Damascus Star a la London swords rather than Birmingham sunburst.

[@cascadianrangers728]

It's cool that the 3rd sword has such a mysterious owner

[@tengbeng9756]

As an aside, nice FNM T-shirt. King For A Day was the best album they ever did.

[@TheBaconWizard]

That rapier on the left (as viewed by us) just above the wakazashi looks rather interesting...

[@valandil7454]

I was thinking that, it's beautiful isn't it 🙂 It's an English complex hilt with a 35-40" cut and thrust blade I think

[@scholagladiatoria]

Yes, very happy to have it! It's English c.1620-1630, with a 40 inch blade (actually slightly less, but the very tip has been a bit rounded with age and wear).

[@titanscerw]

Yet another great snipet of history and peek in to those years and minds of our forebears. Briliantly informative.

[@neelpungliya3235]

Hi do you have any Maratha swords? And can you do an episode on just Maratha swords?

[@frankharr9466]

Those are really interesting. Thank you.

[@lookis4879]

I absolutely love your collection

[@ounalan]

I wonder if you may shoot a video about Ottoman swords in WW1. I've seen one of my grandfather, who was a cavalry officer, with a quite simple hilt guard.

[@frankevans6584]

I have a curved sword my dad brought back after ww2. He said that it was from Kaiser German times. It was given to him by a French lady while he was in Paris. He also had a P-38 but didn’t get home with that.

[@doppelwaffen]

These swords show neither wear nor traces of use in combat. We shouldn't forget that swords were prestige items for officers, even in combat.

[@clydebennish2106]

its always more fun when the blades have a decent provenance.

[@dansmith4077]

Great video thank you

[@verfugbarkite]

Just thought of a bit of experimental history. Chain epaulettes in a hema match- see if they had any tangible benefit. Any downward hits to the shoulder don’t count.

[@RexApplegate]

A man with a bolt action or slower rifle knows the value of a sword. A man with an autoloader, not so much. It becomes a hindrance. Smokeless powder was to be the end of swords in wars. What is remarkable to me is that it took half a century for the tech to catch up. It's not as though the era lacked brilliant engineers and plentiful field testing.

[@richmondlandersenfells2238]

What about the Type32 otsu cavalry sabre of imperial Japan? They also used against the Germans in tsingdao china.

[@michaelwest9311]

Some Welsh troops carried a short sword for trench warfare during this period. From what little I know it was a traditional design of theirs and was a source of pride among these troops since it was theirs and not British issue. Care to give us a video on that? Love your channel by the way.

[@andyc750]

one battalion, the Royal Welch Fusiliers did indeed carry such a thing, however there was was nothing traditional about it, they were privately funded by a British peer who was 2nd in command of the battalion and the design was new and maybe based on bronze age blades and not traditional in any way, the traditional part seems to have been a ploy to originally sell the design

[@jackmichaels9504]

Very interesting topic! Great video as usual.

[@matthewvelo]

Great video Matt.

[@chrisisteas]

Thank you Matt, that was really interesting.

[@gypsyboomer]

Suppose it is possible that the plain Wilkinson was ordered by an officer killed before delivery, therefore no living owner. Are there many other examples like that?

[@larssjostrom6565]

Please tell us more about the use of swords in battle in the 20th century, or recommend a book on the topic!

[@rogueraven7603]

Question have you seen the Boker trench knife? Curious about it’s history.

[@sergireig]

Finally! Have to say that some of the best swords I've ever handled are 20th century

[@jackberry893]

Hi Matt, Skall did a video on some what i assume are recently found "weapons" used by uk criminals. After your recent video about the proposed law and elaborating how it would effect multiple other pieces of equipment used by the everyday man I was curious if you would give his video a look and give your opinion on the matter. I found his video went into a bit of detail regarding testing which I think you would enjoy seeing and ranting on if you havent seen it already.

[@-RONNIE]

Thank you for a good video & quality information ⚔️

[@edi9892]

Are there any examples of hangers, cutlasses or similar from the era still being used? They'd be more convenient to carry and use in confined spaces...

[@johnfisk811]

Still a shipboard issue item in the Royal Navy until the 1930s. ie for issue as weapons not just ceremonial. A Royal Navy officer would purchase their own sidearm and a junior officer who might have to lead seamen armed with a cutlass might have felt embarrassed not to be also armed with a sword as well.

[@DefunctYompelvert]

The US navy only declared them obsolete in 1949. Navy officers officially carried swords until 1941 or so

[@arnoldrimmer1485]

I see you are now at over 400K subscribers. When I look back at the early videos the quality has really become amazing. Maybe to celebrate you 400K you could do a vido about how you record and edit your videos and what equipment you use! What is the new mic that you use now?

[@Mountainmonths]

beautiful swords

[@DIVeltro]

Im curious as to what a nice Patton sword with scabbard is going for now.

[@buzdygan5488]

in the topic: I am very interested in your opinion on Shashka for me personally, i found shashka to be the most comfortable sabre to get out of the scabbard and generally use (not counting hard blocks), and i wonder do you think that the speed of handling and general easy use was worth the lack of hand protection? i also wonder, why, from pretty much early medieval times, eastern Europe (starting in Germany/Poland and going east) kept so much to cut oriented curved sabres. I know us poles have fetishised the idea of sabre, however it is clearly visible that people in the east had more sabres than central and western europe.

[@slick_slicers]

I think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick in regards to why the RN sword needs to lock in to its scabbard. Firstly, an RN officer can only sling his sword in very limited circumstances e.g. when carrying colours, carrying a coffin etc. Therefore, all drill carried out with sheathed swords are performed with an unslung sword (that is it’s retained on long slings, but not hooked on to the belt). At ease and attention require the officer to hold the sword by the handle, with the drag on the deck. On the order “quick march”, the sword is flicked in to the carry position (held by the scabbard with point forward and down, and the guard facing upward behind the left wrist). Without a lock, there would be sheathes dropping left right and centre! There will always be someone dropping their sword or performing a duck walk as they try to recover a fumbled flick!

[@scholagladiatoria]

It's a chicken and egg situation - those exact drills are not very old - they are newer than the locking pin on the sword hilts. The drill was devised (I believe) after the locking pin was introduced in about the 1850s. Prior to that, Royal Navy officers' swords didn't have that locking pin. This is a fairly unresearched area, as far as I have seen. It would be interesting to see how much the drill and the sword design developed in unison.

[@calicojack7029]

I have a George V RA sword, I believe it's post war but it has a Charles Reeves proof slug. This period is so interesting.

[@TheDarrinmcarter]

I tried looking this up but really couldn't find anything. But wasn't the first German killed in the first world war killed by a sword or spear during a cavalry charge

[@heinzentertainments4661]

No, I think the german attacked a french soldier with his sword, but was shot dead by the french comrades

[@srinjoyroychoudhury7034]

I see an Osborne and Gunby sabre there at the back. Can the windlass easton sword male it for general consumption for the public?

[@seanmaier4941]

Any thoughts on the Japanese in WW1 swords, they fought on the Allies side.

[@BenedictFoley]

Believe Japanese contributions in WW1 were mainly naval. though sitill a interesting thing to ponder

[@mtgAzim]

Hey Matt, have you ever shown us that rapier above the wakizashi? I don't remember seeing that one before. The hilt looks really interesting. If you're ever sparse on ideas for a video, you could always just pick a few off the wall to talk about. Even if we've seen it before at some point in the past. ^_^

[@burritotacosupreme]

that would be a great video, commenting for the algorithm

[@Steerpike-th6fe]

Great video! Just out of interest, why did the British Army move away from curved swords to straight ones towards the end of the 19th Century?

[@tomyorke3412]

I mean a pistol and a sword would be good in a trench fight the only reason British officers stopped carrying them was that it made them stand out like a sore thumb the Germans where told to aim for the ones with the swords. I could be wrong but thats what i believe the reason was they even had brown leather sheathes made for their swords instead of the metal scabbards.

[@josephbrown-ut9ty]

Matt , can you do an indepth video on the Officer that stormed the beaches carrying a sword?

[@MaxSDSF]

How where these sabres worn? Like how did those two rings on the scabbard attach to the belt exactly?

[@SlimRhyno]

Another very cool video! 🤙

[@rilke5536]

This is fascinating! 😅

[@Paul-n2j5q]

Matt did you ever come across a civil servant sword from world war I

[@eurojigit6881]

So no mention of Shashka , bebut or kindjal? Sad.....

[@I_am_BiG_Al]

Nice, me and my friends like role-playing in the street. do you ship to croydon??

[@faramund9865]

Interesting how we see the same now but with drones, spotting for artillery that is.

[@alexwest2573]

My 1882 Saxon artillery saber approves this video.

[@TripperJonMD]

The blank Wilkinson is one hell 0f a writing prompt.

[@WhatIfBrigade]

A sword in the artillery really makes a lot of sense because if the enemy is far away you hit them with artillery but if they are close you want to be able to defend the guns. Basically a sword and pistol situation.

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

A rifle with a bayonet would be more useful at short to medium range.

[@WhatIfBrigade]

@@JohnFrumFromAmerica Really hard to carry while actually working with artillery. Gets in the way.

[@JohnFrumFromAmerica]

@@WhatIfBrigade same as a sword. Have you seen artillery men working they would not have swords on them either as anything that slows them down would be counter productive. However they would have weapons near by and they would be much better off having rifles than swords. Which is why is why they did mostly have rifles and not swords.

[@austinwild6723]

I recall reading about how swords in the African and Middle Eastern Theatres (Mesopotamia, Caucasus, Anatolia, etc) were actually quite practical due to how certain soldiers consistently relied upon melee weapons more than on the Western Front. Can you verify this? I have been trying to find sources for my research and its proven to be quite challenging.

[@J1mston]

I think I already know the answer but have you ever come across a sword like these but suited for a left hander? I doubt that it would exist because of rules and regulations and stereotypes of the era but if there is one then that must have an interesting story behind it. I’d love to own one.

[@paulduffy8427]

Do you come across many left handed swords from this era (or indeed earlier eras)?

[@Templarium]

Swords were so considered serious weapons in my country that they banned civilians from owning them along with bayonets and spears back in 1917. That stupid law only affects collectors like me. Glad I don't live there anymore.

[@Subtleknife12367]

Could it not be that they wanted a fighting sword as its a cool story in the mess for that naval officer. Certainly when I got my sword upon getting my commission I didn't go with a new one because they were purely ceremonial, I want one that could be fought with, not because I had any intention of using it, but because it is cool.

[@peterbarron6150]

we see all sorts of melee weapons used in WW1 trenches. Do we have any evidence of sword use in trench combat. Or did the tradition of swords being for officer use preclude that use?

[@scholagladiatoria]

It was rare. There are some examples, but by 1915 most officers in most armies had stopped carrying swords, largely because it made them a target for snipers. Most soldiers used bayonets on the end of their rifles, or knives, or trench clubs. Officers tended to use their revolver coupled with a hand weapon like a knife or club.

[@zoiders]

Swords were not traditionally only for officers. They were used extensively by NCOs and other ranks in the infantry during the Napoleonic Wars. They remained a primary weapon for troopers in the cav regiments as well. The RN held onto swords for boarding actions well into WW2.

[@davidw6684]

@@scholagladiatoria I would imagine that most issued side swords for officers would not be ideal for most trenches (trench size did vary). A very short sword say just over half a meter or 20-24 inches might work well but swords like that were not readily available at that time. So Webley and club it was :)

[@DefunctYompelvert]

@@davidw6684I read the French army planned on issuing a short infantry sword in 1913 or so as well as khaki uniforms but military tradition of red pantaloons and long blades was preferred

[@chringlanthegreat4556]

Hey Matt, I was wondering where I could find the dimensions (in Millimeters if possible) of the last sword you showed. I would like to try to make it and it looked interesting

[@darthvaper6745]

This was cool

[@Brentisimo]

[tank officer] “Drive me closer! I want to hit them with my sword!”

[@MravacKid]

"Fly me closer, I want to hit them with my sword!" :)

[@vladfreeman8461]

You should do a video about ww3 swords

[@thomcarey1971]

Another outstanding post, Matt!